The former Louisville coach and two-time NCAA champ, who was fired in October for his alleged role in a scheme to bribe recruits with sneaker-company money, says a return to the game he's accused of disgracing is not out of the question.

"If a school, come April, comes to me in Miami and says, 'We believe you. We believe you were innocent,' I would give it a shot," Pitino told ESPN. "I don't care about the money, the salary.

"But the way I'm looking at it now is that I've got to get on with a different part of my life — build a different life that doesn't include coaching. I need to be happy, be content."

Pitino's name does not appear anywhere in the federal NCAA hoops probe but it has been reported and widely speculated that he is the "Coach-2" prominently mentioned in the investigation. The feds are focused on shining a light on the influence sneaker companies like Adidas have on college basketball and Pitino, who made millions off the Adidas contract with Louisville, has been closely linked to the case.

Rick Pitino was fired by Louisville in October over his alleged role in a bribery scheme.

(Mike Ehrmann)

Pitino maintains his innocence. Since losing his job, the former Knicks coach moved to Miami, where he said he is working out three times a day and putting his life back together. Pitino told ESPN there is no way to prove his innocence and be "fully exonerated."

So the 65-year-old has partly accepted a future that no longer includes coaching basketball.

"The way I feel today, I'm not going to coach again," Pitino said. "But that may not be my feeling in February.

"I've got to get over the hurt. It's going to take some time. But the bitterness is gone."